REPLACEMENT PARTSIf you've ever had to replace the whole...

What's cooking - NEWS AND ADVICE FOR BETTER EATING -

December 12, 1991

REPLACEMENT PARTS

If you've ever had to replace the whole coffeemaker because the carafe broke, or a dull food processor blade when your ''chopped'' parsley turned to mush, then you'll want to know about two companies that specialize in solving such problems.

Culinary Parts Unlimited, in California, and European Home Products Inc., in Connecticut, stock replacement parts for many brand-name small appliances.

European Home Products specializes in food processor parts for three best-selling machines: Cuisinart, Robot Coupe and KitchenAid. The company also keeps a stock of parts for the original Cuisinart, the CFP Series.

Culinary Parts Unlimited carries parts for most food processors as well as for Krups, Braun, Melitta and other coffeemakers. The firm also sells KitchenAid mixer parts and accessories.

Both companies have toll-free numbers: European Home Products, (800) 225-0760; Culinary Parts Unlimited, (800) 543-7549. Have the manufacturer's name and the model number of the appliance ready when you call.

WORD DU JOUR: SAUTE

The term ''saute'' is familiar to most cooks because it appears so frequently in recipes. But did you know it is rooted in a French verb, sauter, which means to jump or leap? Visions of veal scallops doing gymnastics in a skillet may seem silly, but they aptly illustrate the idea: cooking that occurs almost as quickly as a back flip on the balance beam.

Sauteing is a standard way to cook lean, tender and boneless cuts of meat or poultry, fish fillets or steaks in a skillet with a small amount of fat. Sauteing is synonymous with pan-frying.

THE VIDEO KITCHEN

An International Holiday Table is a new videocassette put together by the folks who produced PBS' Great Chefs series.

In step-by-step style, an international cast of chefs demonstrates how to prepare holiday favorites from plum pudding to a Christmas goose. A 24-page cookbook comes with the 60-minute video so that the home cook can easily follow the narrator.

The tape is $22.90 (includes shipping and handling) and can be ordered by calling (800) 321-1499.

COOKING BY THE BOOK

People seem to like sitting down and perusing catalogs in search of good eats. If you are one of them, take a look at the new, enlarged version of Food Finds by Allison and Margaret Engel (Harper/Perennial, $16). This is more than just a catalog, though. The Engels are identical twins who travel across the country searching for the best foods from small firms. They have put together 346 pages of proud Americana, from the Moxie Soda Pop (the oldest carbonated beverage in the United States) in Lisbon Falls, Maine, to Chugwater Chili from a cooperative in Chugwater, Wyo.

The stories of these family-run businesses make good reading for food connoisseurs. For example, readers will learn about Whistling Wings Inc., a duck farm that has made the town of Hanover, Ill., the ''world's mallard duck capital.'' Foodies can also read about Karin and Ralph Koal, who are the only commercial farmers in the country who grow lingonberries, tart red gems that aremembers of the cranberry family. Their Karin's Lingonberry Farm in Elma, Wash., sells lingonberry vinaigrette, jam and sour cream cake.

TIPS FROM READERS

Sticky labels often leave a gummy substance behind when removed from new utensils. Rubbing a little cooking oil over the area often helps wipe the utensil clean.